Intellectual Property Rights in a Networked World: Theory and Practice doc

[...]... granting of property rights in general, and we ask whether those rationales can be extended to the realm of intellectual objects Theories of property introduced by Locke and Hegel, as well as utilitarian philosophers, are summarized and critiqued This sets the stage for reviewing the case against intellectual property We reject that case and claim instead that policy makers should aim for balanced property. .. philosophers argue that intellectual property rights are not a natural entitlement or a matter of natural justice Rather, they should be awarded purely for pragmatic purposes as a means of inducing creative or inventive activity This line of reasoning is echoed in influential cases such as Wheaton v Peters (1834), which denies that an author’s intellectual property rights in published works are a matter of common... through intellectual property law” (p 105) Capitalism assimilates creative labor in order to gain control over these desirable intellectual objects Intellectual property law, therefore, performs a disservice by commodifying intellectual objects and creative labor and by integrating them into the capitalist structure According to this line of reasoning, society would be better off with a system that avoided... commodification of intellectual and creative works, so that they are not alienated from their actual creators and openly available to anyone This system would encourage and reward the sharing of information and the advancement of scientific knowledge Contemporary critics of intellectual property rights such as Martin (1995) argue that these rights lead to unjustifiably harmful consequences such as the... structures and endows that discourse with some measure of originality and uniqueness When, for example, Jane Austen narrates a tale about marriage and love in early 19th Century England, this “discourse” has distinct qualities thanks to her intentional use of language in a certain way and with a certain style The true artist or great novelist could never be reduced to an impersonal or passive purveyor of shapeless,... secondary liability for copyright infringement be invoked? And finally what can moralists bring to this debate that so far has been dominated by legal scholars? We begin with a conceptual background on the nature of intellectual objects INTELLECTUAL OBJECTS Property is a dynamic concept, which has evolved dramatically since the 18 Century Originally, it referred exclusively to land but eventually it was... suggests that property rights cannot be awarded unless the author creates things that are “capable of possession under the law.” English natural law, therefore, along with Locke’s important proviso, can be interpreted to support a robust public domain along with individual property rights in concrete intellectual objects We can affirm that a creator’s mental labor leads to the production of intellectual objects... Lockean framework, a Hegelian approach to intellectual property has notable shortcomings Once again we are confronted with the difficulty of defining and quantifying self-expression if we want to use it as a basis for granting intellectual property rights To what extent does expression of one’s personality justify increased property protection? What happens if inventions, reflecting the personality... ownership is an incentive that encourages people to behave in certain ways that will increase socially valuable goods The utilitarian argument for intellectual property rights is equally straightforward: those rights are necessary to maximize social utility by providing authors, inventors, and other creators with rewards for their work Without those rewards, which in the Anglo-American system take the form... for intellectual property that have been provided by our legal system: copyright laws, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets Finally, recent litigation, including the Napster, Grokster, Microsoft, and DeCSS cases, are critically examined Many of the issues and controversies introduced in this chapter are explored and analyzed in greater detail in the subsequent chapters of this book The three chapters . a single essay that provides a broad overview of the main themes in intellectual property scholarship, such as normative intellectual property theory and. rights in a networked world : theory and practice / Richard A. Spinello, Herman T. Tavani, editor[s]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN